]]>We are offering a range of VR experiences to youth in Otago as part of our youth week efforts this year. Come experience fully immersive VR with the HTC VIVE alone or with friends at our base at the Malcam Trust building on Maori Drive

Check out our massive range of games, activities and experiences viable for young people in fully immersive VR. We suggest a $10 koha for individual sessions in the Vive so we can keep the lights on, or you can bring a small group of friends along for a 40 minute session and play a range of experiences together!

We are opening the studio to small groups and individuals from the 31st of May util the 4th of June. Others who want in will have to wait!

]]>http://www.hivedunedin.com/youth-week-hive/feed/0567313 ways to talk about 13 reasonshttp://www.hivedunedin.com/13-ways-talk-13-reasons/
http://www.hivedunedin.com/13-ways-talk-13-reasons/#commentsTue, 18 Apr 2017 21:32:43 +0000http://www.hivedunedin.com/?p=565113 reasons is a Netflix show centring on reasons behind the death-by-suicide of Hannah who narrates through a series of suicide tapes. In each episode the tapes reveal more of the events leading up to her death. Unfortunately, it would appear that no mental health, suicide prevention guidelines, or ethical concerns made any part of the […]

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13 reasons is a Netflix show centring on reasons behind the death-by-suicide of Hannah who narrates through a series of suicide tapes. In each episode the tapes reveal more of the events leading up to her death. Unfortunately, it would appear that no mental health, suicide prevention guidelines, or ethical concerns made any part of the show development process.The show is developed from a book of the same name, but deviates from that on number of levels throughout the series. Most notably in its depiction of suicide which was dramatised and shocking.

The series attempts to address serious topics like bullying, misogyny, relationships, rape, social media, privacy, mental health, and even suicide, with mixed results…What is does open up are opportunities to talk about it… so let’s start with some.

Suicide has many causes, and is not usually the result of one event, but one key aspect in suicidal thought is believing that your loved ones would be better off without you in their lives.Talking point : Tell others how much you need them in your life, how nothing they do is ever a reason for them to not be loved, accept them, and remind them of how important they are in your life.

Privacy : I grimaced when Hannah’s mother came in her room, grabbed her phone and talked the person on the other end, along with the threats of loosing her phone, this for me is a big no no.Talking point : Ask what it feels like when privacy is invaded. This opens up a larger question around who has access to your information online, and nothing online is secret. Ask if they know about how much of their private data is recorded online, and who has access to that information. Try this internet privacy resource from Mozilla as a way to open up the conversation.

Trust – if you want to establish trust with teenagers, invading their privacy, taking their contact point (phone/tablet/etc) is not helping to open lines of communication between you. Setting limits on phone use while a good idea in theory, but rarely results in 100% compliance, from young people OR adults, but being able to talk frankly and openly about it helps.Talking point :Instead of taking a phone, ask them how many hours they are spending on it (in a non judgemental way –remember this is about acceptance and honesty, if you don’t want to know then don’t ask) and ask if they feel their lives would be easier/less stressful if they took a break now and again, often agreeing some sort of ‘lights out’ policy to aid sleep is of use. Click here for an article on the sleep problems associated with tech use at bedtime

Communication : I think this is the biggest message of this show is the failure to communicate clearly by every single character in the show, this may be a combination of dodgy acting and poor writing. None the less, in almost every instance, Hannah’s problems were worsened by lack of communication.Talking point : Ask not ‘where did it all go wrong’ ask ‘ where did she fail to tell somebody something important?

Communication – Part 2 : You and them, at no stage does Hannah talk to her parents about any of this…while young people may not always turn to their parents, it starts with point 1 above, can you listen when its really hard to hear? Taking care of things in a calm, kind way is the second part of this…using materials and supports from trusted organisations.Talking point : Can you learn to listen and accept anything your child might tell you without over reacting? If so tell them that and practice it.

Communication Part 3 : The tapes are a wonderful storytelling device, but an overall dangerous message for the following reasons. When a person dies by suicide, that’s it, there may be a note, or in this case a set of tapes, but that is the end of their voice, their presence, their perspective, and them. The tapes used in this show, are a plot device – try talking about how likely this is, that everything gets fixed, that everyone realises their flaws and mistakes, that the world does wake up, after you are gone. This, in my opinion is the most flawed aspect of the show, the ghost of Hannah putting
all wrongs right…nope, she’s dead, and the dead can’t fix anything.Talking point : Suicide is a permanent cure for a temporary state –sticking around, asking for help, asking for help again, and again, accepting help, things change, and can change, no matter how dark it seems.

Truth or TV – This is not real – this is not how most suicides happen, there is pain, and more pain and long term sufferings and problems for everyone that was a part of the person’s life.Talking point : Ask if this show is like real life, and where it might differ, and how much pain others are left in afterwards

Revenge or release? While people did awful things to Hannah, her suicide in this show is presented as a revenge tactic, literally setting up a murder, with a long litany of post mortem allegations. Suicide is an act committed by an individual, they decide to live or die, and its not other peoples fault.Talking point : Life is not fair, bad things happen to good people, no matter how hard you try or how good your idea was sometimes you fail, and thats okay. You can’t control everything. You are not responsible for how others act, behave or think.

Those left behind : Is Clay treated fairly in this show? From what I can see Hannah has selfishly placed a huge burden on him and its likely to impact the rest of his life. Talk about how Clay is left, with nothing, and nobody, just this massive burden, his life is negatively impacted by this.Talking point : Talk about how those left behind after a suicide will deal with it, how it does not improve their lives, and how they might be supported?

Mental Health : At no stage in 13 reasons does anybody mention mental health, or wellbeing, or stress, or balance. Talking to friends, social activities, exercise, eating well, sleeping, we know the things we should do to maintain mental and physical health, however sometimes we need help or support. If brought low by a physical problem we don’t hesitate to go to a doctor, but reluctance to attend for mental problems is still systemic.Talking point :Ask what Hannah might have been suffering from, find out about symptoms of depression and talk about them, recognise the difference between depression and feeling sad, and what you could do if you or a friend felt like that.

Young peoples lives : 13 reasons brings up a load of contemporary problems in a small group of people. While the main theme is suicide the events leading up to this effect a persons feelings of self worth, coping ability and trust that life can get better.Talking point : Talk about the other aspects of the show – rape, social media, bullying. Ask open questions, ‘has anything like that happened in your school’ This is an American show, and while the themes may be similar, discuss how they might also be different here.

Consent : Talk about consent with your sons, its never too early, talk about how language and behaviour contributes to a culture where this behaviour is acceptable or tolerated.Talking point : Ask them to point out parts of the show where women were mistreated and what they might say if they found themselves a group who acted that way.

Educate yourself, know what social media is, how its used (for good AND not so good) be willing to talk without judgement about the various aspects of online lives. The internet is not going away, but values of honesty, openness, and acceptance in your house will create a safe space to discuss these things.

Article by : Ann Cronin is the Hive manager and a psychologist with interests in digital technology. Ann researches positive uses of internet technology for learning and social good. Ann also thinks Jessica Jones was a far better Netflix show for you and your teenagers to watch together :). Hive Dunedin professionals are available to discuss all aspects of online safety, responsibility and positive use of the internet with schools, groups and individuals.

]]>http://www.hivedunedin.com/13-ways-talk-13-reasons/feed/15651Storytelling in VR Masterclass with Mike Jones Recaphttp://www.hivedunedin.com/storytelling-vr-masterclass-mike-jones-recap/
http://www.hivedunedin.com/storytelling-vr-masterclass-mike-jones-recap/#commentsSun, 19 Mar 2017 07:33:27 +0000http://www.hivedunedin.com/?p=5592On Saturday, some of the Hive members were lucky enough to attend the “Concepts of Narrative VR with Mike Jones” masterclass hosted by the New Zealand Film Commission in Dunedin’s creative co-working space Petridish. Part of the NZ Film Commission’s GPS 2026 series, the event was introduced by their Head of Talent Development (and BAFTA-nominated Director) […]

]]>On Saturday, some of the Hive members were lucky enough to attend the “Concepts of Narrative VR with Mike Jones” masterclass hosted by the New Zealand Film Commission in Dunedin’s creative co-working space Petridish.

Part of the NZ Film Commission’s GPS 2026 series, the event was introduced by their Head of Talent Development (and BAFTA-nominated Director) Dale Corlett.

The aim?

To get the strong local film industry thinking about future developments.

After a quick introduction on Mike Jones – a race through an impressive list including writing, interactive projects for Warner Brothers, through to co-creator of the latest Virtual Reality (VR) detective thriller “VR Noir,” Mike jumped straight into a rollercoaster 2-hour ride through storytelling in VR.

What made this session different to any other was its focus, not so much on the technology of VR that we’re used to hearing, but instead on the creativity required to make such projects a success.

Mike asked the very important question:

How do we tell a story in these VR environments?

And then he proceeded to answer it…

Mike explained how we traditionally defined our writing skills in a platform-specific way. You were a writer of a books or a script writer. That is becoming increasingly difficult as the mediums diversify and now we describe writing more generally – as the ability to craft stories across platforms. In a very short space of time we have added new media to our platform options, but none of them have changed what fundamentally makes a good story.

As Mike explained, we do need to understand how the human brain makes sense of a story in its most basic form in order to understand how it will work in VR – that if you give any human two objects they will try to connect them. It’s when we “narrativise” like this that we create the story.

Therefore, trying to head into VR without thinking about the viewer’s ability to narrativise could lead to us tripping over the tech.

And there are serious challenges here.

Current VR writers and producers are essentially trying to build content for a medium that isn’t yet in the mass public domain. That has never happened before. And its either good, or very weird!

But Mike advised that now is the time to test approaches and “leave skin on the road.” Art is always a negotiation of creativity and commerce. We need to be ready. Investment in VR is already happening, and will increase as usage does.

And VR usage is increasing at a never-before-seen rate:

In fact VR unit sales of headsets is expected to reach 24 million by 2018. That’s from a base of zero a mere 24 months ago. No new technology in history, not even CDs, grew that quickly. So how many does it take to be considered a mass media? 500 million apparently. And as the research Mike quoted* estimates, that’s just 2 years away.

However, the growth of new mediums like VR doesn’t mean that we’re swapping one audience for another. It simply means that the audience are spreading themselves across more media. So VR isn’t taking over, it’s simply becoming another slice of the pie. This also means a potentially much broader audience for VR than those who simply migrated from gaming.

In order to tackle the challenges that VR content creation brings, Mike tells us to find the familiar in the foreign – what would be universal to any media? In essence, the VR issues are the same as those facing any small production screen company; repeatability, scalability and sustainability. Because every shot in VR is an FX shot, and that means a very expensive cost per minute.

Mike admits that VR is currently an experience like no other, with YouTube littered with hilarious videos of people’s first shocking experience. But he reminded us that we, as society, have been here before.

When the Lumiere Brothers premiered their arrival of a train short film in 1896 history tells us that people fled in panic at the sight of a moving train coming towards them on a big screen.

So when the “shock factor” of VR dies away, then we will get to the really interesting stuff. And writers will be expected to grab our attention, keep it, and fully immerse us in this new medium, if VR is to thrive…

In the same way we learned a new language when writing for cinema – the language of the edit – we must now learn a new grammar to approach VR creation.

The important questions to ask yourself before starting out, according to Mike, include:

What genres work better in VR?

How do we visually tell a story when the audience can look wherever they want?

Who is the audience?

Where do the audience want to go?

This last question is fundamental, says Mike, because with many other mediums, when choosing a story we will ask each other “What do you want to read/watch?” whereas in VR the first question is often “Where is it set?”

Mike helpfully took us through in detail the four universal story elements that should be discussed in the VR writers’ room:

Genre – the “What do you feel like watching?” question is a great place to start because audiences make emotional choices. So ultimately, how do you want the audience to feel? It is, according to Mike, inconsistency of tone in this case that will often be the downfall of any story. He recommends a thesaurus for this exercise. Words like “scared” are too broad when you consider that “shock” is a very different emotion to “dread”, etc.

Story World Design – this is platform agnostic and not VR-specific, however constructing a world does take on a literal meaning in VR. So Mike suggests a “world before plot” approach. He explained how every good TV show does this, particularly sitcoms that use worlds made up of forces that allow hundreds of stories and plot lines to play out. So ask yourself “What are the rules of this world?” Bear in mind that we don’t critic environments in other mediums the way we do in VR.

Plot / Narration / Story – Mike warned us that these terms are often used interchangeably but are, in fact, different things, especially in VR. For example plot is a series of events with cause and effect. That is not the same as narration, which is the telling of the plot (which could be told linear or completely mixed up). In VR the audience is part of the narration, just like in gaming, so that requires writing multiple modes of narration! Then we have story which is the culmination of the two – plot + narration. And story is created in the mind of the audience.

Escalation – Mike explained how lack of escalation is one of the biggest failings in current VR projects. Every story ever told is about stuff getting worse, otherwise we don’t care. Successful storytelling needs the audience to care. That means two of the most useful words for writers critiquing their own story development are “BUT” and “SO.” Narrative moves as the question the audience is asking changes. This element will transform a VR project from being a simple abstract experience to actually VR storytelling.

Mike then took us through the key VR concepts:

Immersion and Presence in VR

Immersion requires the VR audience to be cognitively engaged or involved. We need the narrative immersion (so that we care) but we must also achieve spacial immersion – when the simulated world is perceptually convincing enough that we forget we’re wearing a headset. That means trying to get an audience lost in both the story and the visual experience.

Presence is the feeling of actually being there. This is unique to VR because no other medium can fool the brain the way VR can. We often get lost in stories, like books or films, but not lost in the actual medium. When we can combine the technological presence with the psychological presence, that’s where we create “AGENCY” – the feeling that a story simply wouldn’t happen without us being there.

So when planning a VR story it’s important to think about what stories naturally embody an active and meaningful role for the viewer?

Then add interactivity, and you take the VR story experience to the next level.

But interactivity is a spectrum.

So we have to decide how much control or influence we want give an audience. They already have the agency in VR to look around the environment, which is in itself compelling. That’s the minimum level of control we can give them in VR. As Mike explains, this may partly be a question that is answered by budget, but it should also be a key story question.

The way to answer this question on your own VR project, according to Mike, is to describe your audience using an active verb. Are they the author, explorer, or builder? Perhaps a solver, finder or guide? Replace passive words for active words. For example a viewer is passive, whereas a voyeur watches but tries not to be seen.

Once we know how much influence we want the audience to have, we break agency and interactivity down into three main segments – motivation (compelling the viewer to action), action and then reward (the pay off for acting). Miss out on any of these and the interactivity is merely button pushing. There needs to be cause and effect. It’s also important to give the audience clarity of the actions required, because once they are confused we lose the immersion. And the most powerful reward system? Giving the audience access to the next part of the story!

In the second part of the workshop Mike talked us through:

Spatial Antecedents in VR

We looked at video games which followed radio, which followed theatre, which followed ancient architecture.

VR is now utilising many of the tactics from these primal sources to create and use space, primarily around three spatial dynamics:

Motivation

Proximity

Direction

Mike explained that the spacial motivation used in VR is like that referenced by Norman Klein in his brief history of special effects – “gentle motivation posing as free will,” i.e. we are being led around an environment subtly in the same way shopping centre designers lead us to maximum exposure to increase spend.

With spacial proximity Mike referenced Edward T. Hall’s study of behaviour and non-verbal communication (dubbed “Proxemics”). This is the idea that distance varies with the level of human relationships. This creates powerful meaning as close-ups can instantly connect us to a character that comes into our intimate area of space. This, according to Mike, is simply choreography. In VR we can no longer frame shots to create intimacy or scale, so proximity is the tool we use.

Then we looked at spatial direction. Mike referenced one of the most common editing techniques in cinema, the J edit (whereby we hear the sound from the next scene before the cut). Psychologically this is a useful device in film because it mimics our real-world experience. While our eyes see in 200 degrees, our ears are always driving our eyes. In fact all our other sense are holistic, but the ears are the one we can utilise in VR storytelling.

This is architecture at a micro-level. Mike recommends a sound designer in the writers’ room to advise on creating these dramatic devices that will compel the viewer to move around and lead them through an environment that they technically have the ability to move freely in. This can be achieved with light too, as well as movement and colour contrast.

These are the skills people like theatre lighting designers have been using for decades.

All of this led Mike to rethink the writing process, as these three elements give us a new way to write for VR. He talked about putting it into practice on his latest project “Awake,” the culmination of three creators – a writer, a cinematographer and a director/designer.

Finally, when thinking about the key question as to whether VR can express an idea purely through space and presence (without character or dialogue) Mike claimed that there is a precedent.

He took us back to the arcade days of his childhood and the story behind Missile Command in 1983.

Inherent in this basic 2D game is a moral dilemma. Do you attempt to save all the cities and end up saving none? Do you save only the cities with the best chance of survival success? Or do you save the missiles first, the only line of defence against the enemy attack?

The original creator wanted to convey that nuclear war couldn’t really be won by anyone. Hence why each attempt finishes with the words “The End” and not the traditional “Game Over.”

A profound message communicated through a purely 2D spacial arrangement in a world with two forces…

It has been done. And it is our job to achieve it in the future of VR storytelling.

]]>http://www.hivedunedin.com/storytelling-vr-masterclass-mike-jones-recap/feed/15592Minecraft Club 2.0http://www.hivedunedin.com/minecraft-club-2-0/
http://www.hivedunedin.com/minecraft-club-2-0/#respondMon, 13 Mar 2017 20:45:13 +0000http://www.hivedunedin.com/?p=5584Minecraft Club kicked off this weekend with a fantastic turnout and a crash-free experience. We have tweaked and developed Minecraft as a learning tool to cater for all three groups that make up our classes. Class 1 at 9.30 caters for little ones, aged 5-7 who are just starting on computers but have loads to […]

]]>Minecraft Club kicked off this weekend with a fantastic turnout and a crash-free experience. We have tweaked and developed Minecraft as a learning tool to cater for all three groups that make up our classes.

Class 1 at 9.30 caters for little ones, aged 5-7 who are just starting on computers but have loads to tell us about Minecraft. This week we mixed basic literacy and creativity by reading them a classic fairy tail and letting them create characters, buildings and dialogue around the theme. We has a great response and lots of variety in the houses created for the three little pigs in Minecraft

Class 2 at 10.30 is our intermediate class for 7-10 year olds, we decided to do some material sciences and experimentation with this group. We are testing materials in Minecraft to determine wether the game dynamics reflects real world dynamics. We decided to test leather armour and wood tools, after gathering the essential ingredients and materials the class engaged in a battle royale. Last body standing was timed at 1.12sec. Next week we will test different sword combinations with additional challenges.

Class 3 at 11.30 is our senior class, these people know their Minecraft. We had a special guest come along Jason Lindsey who runs Petridish from 8 Stafford Street. Jason is a digital animation professional who works out of a heritage building in Dunedin. A former Hat factory is now home a range of creative digital startups. The class got ground plans and elevations for the building and then planned in groups what materials and scale to use. After a few hiccups a front elevation appeared and ver the next few weeks we will finish the build. Jason has also offered to bring the group on a tour of the building so we’re looking forward to making that happen!

If you are interested in Minecraft Club please drop us a line or just take the plunge and book online!

]]>http://www.hivedunedin.com/minecraft-club-2-0/feed/05584Creativity is universalhttp://www.hivedunedin.com/creativity-is-universal/
http://www.hivedunedin.com/creativity-is-universal/#respondWed, 15 Feb 2017 22:48:23 +0000http://www.hivedunedin.com/?p=5551We hear a lot about the need for creativity in all aspects of life and work, unfortunately people still describe themselves as ‘not having a creative bone in their body’. But perhaps they have not been allowed to develop creative solutions in the right environment. Creativity is as much a social act as an individual trait, and team work […]

]]>We hear a lot about the need for creativity in all aspects of life and work, unfortunately people still describe themselves as ‘not having a creative bone in their body’. But perhaps they have not been allowed to develop creative solutions in the right environment. Creativity is as much a social act as an individual trait, and team work can help expand peoples creative output.

I’ve spent 10 years researching creativity in all its forms from the neurological basis in systems and processes to in depth interviews and ethnographic research around the infinite capacity of humans to develop and grow, to change, and adapt. One of the fundamental aspects of creative work is that it rarely occurs alone, even if you cite Einstein, Jobs, or Gates, none of these people worked without colleagues, influences, or other people to bounce ideas off and develop ideas with.

Children develop their own game characters in groups during our Game Design workshops

Creativity often stems from collaboration, from working with other people, and allowing different experiences to come together to solve problems. Progression through any career often results in a tightening of focus, as you become more and more professionally engaged with your subject matter. Often this results in less room for new ideas, not necessarily the perfect recipe for creativity. Building an environment for ideas come together from different minds, helps create new solutions which work.

Merging different minds and experiences is what we do at the Hive. Alex Gregory turned up for a meeting 2.5 years ago to try and establish a Code-club in an old museum in South Dunedin, we had no internet connection, no computers, no money and no backing. In the last year we have delivered 4 hours of free digital education to over 670 children, next year we want to triple that number. A Psychologist and a Computer Scientist make a good pair, we work together to deliver things that provide benefits for our learners and people, we have established a community of learning, with hard work.

This year we are going to expand our creative suite to include more young people and adults who want to benefit from the digital upswing. We are always welcoming new collaborators and innovators. Get in touch today and let us know what we can help develop with you!

Ann Cronin

Hive Manager

Ann holds honours degrees in Psychology & Neuroscience and is currently completing a PhD in Psychology @ Otago specialising in Creativity and Learning

]]>http://www.hivedunedin.com/creativity-is-universal/feed/05551Why do we do the things we do?http://www.hivedunedin.com/why-do-we-do-the-things-we-do/
http://www.hivedunedin.com/why-do-we-do-the-things-we-do/#respondWed, 15 Feb 2017 19:42:14 +0000http://www.hivedunedin.com/?p=5543 Within the next 20 years, 47-81% of jobs as we currently understand them will be under threat from technology. This includes jobs that have always been considered ‘safe’ from automation. But until we achieve a collective understanding of what exponential technological growth truly looks like — and how it affects us all — we will […]

Within the next 20 years, 47-81% of jobs as we currently understand them will be under threat from technology. This includes jobs that have always been considered ‘safe’ from automation. But until we achieve a collective understanding of what exponential technological growth truly looks like — and how it affects us all — we will be at a disadvantage.

But the ever-increasing pace of change doesn’t just hold threat — it also holds opportunity. We are shifting from an economic model based on scarcity to one based on abundance. What are the strategic implications? What kinds of policies do we need? What is the impact on our economy? What are the ethical considerations? None of the old rules apply.

One of our founding members, Alex Gregory here presenting in Wellington on why we do the things we do. All volunteer lead and growing every week. We now have a great new base and will start rolling out courses in the next few months.

If you want to volunteer with us please fill in the contact form and we will be in touch

]]>http://www.hivedunedin.com/why-do-we-do-the-things-we-do/feed/05543Rocking Wellingtonhttp://www.hivedunedin.com/rocking-wellington/
http://www.hivedunedin.com/rocking-wellington/#respondMon, 22 Aug 2016 01:59:10 +0000http://www.hivedunedin.com/?p=5316We were invited to run a few MAKERPARTY workshops at Mashup 2016 with Codeclub, FabLab and OMG tech and other tech upstarts in Welly last week. Add 350 students from Wellington Schools and that’s a party we had to attend! So last week we set off, a band of happy travelers, weighed down with 4 […]

]]>We were invited to run a few MAKERPARTY workshops at Mashup 2016 with Codeclub, FabLab and OMG tech and other tech upstarts in Welly last week. Add 350 students from Wellington Schools and that’s a party we had to attend!

So last week we set off, a band of happy travelers, weighed down with 4 crates of craft stuff and backpacks full of iPads and Sphero’s. I’m so lucky I have met such good eggs here in Dunedin, willing to drop everything and go eat dumplings and rock a gig in Wellington for the craic!

We even collected Josh at the airport

Josh Nicholson (our Sphero expert) Alex Gregory, Mika Smith and Lewis van den Burg Shaw all journeyed forth from the deep south bringing our very Dunedin based sensibilities to the North Island. We always try to bring fun to tech, to embed learning in activities which access a diverse array of strengths and creativity.

Having people willing to help and make things happen is amazing, having a talented crew is even better.

The Airbnb was a little cosy, this is Josh’s room

As with all good adventures, nothing went to plan, TePapa managed to flood itself the night before our gig, some fantastic logistics and organising from Michael from Codeclub and the museum saw us trek across town to an alternative venue at Piptea Marae.

We set up and got to work. Each team had less than an hour to design, build and test a way of getting an egg across the finish line with the Sphero.

Getting eggs from A to B can result in tragedy!

Despite Ann breaking the first egg of the day the kids fared much better with only a few Humpty Dumpty tragedies during the day. The magic of this task was the wide array of solutions devised to transport the precious cargoes, and the absolute joy of just making for the sake of it. This is a structured activity where first place is not the goal, to build and refine is the key, adaptation is its own reward.

Group one gets down to work, 9 teams of 3 working against the clock

We enjoyed watching the diverse groups come up with sticky, innovative solutions for their egg carriage, and as Occam’s Razor decrees, often the simplest ideas were first across the line. As we were on a very tight schedule the time for refinement and testing was cut, and as the day wore on we had to turn more and more disappointed kids away, our final session say our number ballon from 25 to 42 and we still had to turn more away.

adaptation and innovation on display

We loved that everyone screamed with joy when winners crossed the line, it wasn’t important that they won, but that somebody figured it out, and the task could be done, and given half a chance I’m sure a refined session with improved designs would have seen even greater results. We have Lewis to thank for sticking on Chariots of Fire for each race, which really added to the absolute hilarity of the venture.

The team drivers line up for the final battle

Huge thanks to Codeclub for having us along and putting up with our bad dancing, loud screaming and faint aroma of egg yoke for the day. Well done to our mega amazing volunteers who made this possible, you are golden.

A silent disco is a wifi enabled pop up disco, Dj’s play tunes and attendees wear headphones connected to the DJ’s desk. Switch channels your headphones to tune into 1 of up to 3 DJ’s battling it out to play the best tunes for you to party to! One DJ might be playing top 40, while another pumps out some Beastie Boys, and a third plays 80’s classics. You can switch channels whenever you like, so for the Dj’s it’s a fight to win the dance floor!

The Silent disco is a staple of Northern European festivals and we are bringing the party here! We will kick off with 3 discos : one for kids, one for teenagers, and one later one for the grown ups – because Makerparties are for making party, and there’s no party like a Silent Disco. This one’s not to be missed, so check out the Facebook event here.

]]>http://www.hivedunedin.com/silent-disco/feed/05312Our Second Makerparty Recappedhttp://www.hivedunedin.com/second-makerparty-recapped/
http://www.hivedunedin.com/second-makerparty-recapped/#respondFri, 12 Aug 2016 08:21:02 +0000http://www.hivedunedin.com/?p=5290Woohoo number two! Halfway there for our goal of four this year, at which point we will be looking to become an official Mozilla Hive city. This one was even bigger than the last – more coding, more electronics, and a real trebuchet! Not to mention the neuroscience – controlling another persons arm movements with […]

]]>Woohoo number two! Halfway there for our goal of four this year, at which point we will be looking to become an official Mozilla Hive city.

This one was even bigger than the last – more coding, more electronics, and a real trebuchet! Not to mention the neuroscience – controlling another persons arm movements with your own. Amazing. Take a look at the photos below.

]]>http://www.hivedunedin.com/second-makerparty-recapped/feed/05290Our First Makerparty Recappedhttp://www.hivedunedin.com/first-makerparty-recapped/
http://www.hivedunedin.com/first-makerparty-recapped/#respondFri, 12 Aug 2016 08:12:13 +0000http://www.hivedunedin.com/?p=5272Dunedin’s very first Makerparty was a great success, seeing more than 60 kids take part in workshops covering all sorts. From electronics to boomerang making, there was something for everyone. This was our first Makerparty, with the goal being to hold another 3 by the years end. After that, we hope to become an official hive city, and […]

]]>Dunedin’s very first Makerparty was a great success, seeing more than 60 kids take part in workshops covering all sorts. From electronics to boomerang making, there was something for everyone.

This was our first Makerparty, with the goal being to hold another 3 by the years end. After that, we hope to become an official hive city, and from there the sky’s the limit! So stay tuned, and in the mean time check out some photos from the event below.